News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Avrobio‘s application to expand to the U.S. its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial testing its gene therapy candidate AVR-RD-02 in people with type 1 Gaucher disease. The trial (NCT04145037), called GAU-201, is investigating the safety and efficacy…

A patient with type 2 Gaucher disease received treatment with Prevail Therapeutics‘ investigational gene therapy PR001 under a compassionate use program, the company said. The treatment was administered following approval by an international regulatory authority. PR001 uses a modified, harmless version of an …

A case report about two sisters in Brazil with Gaucher type 1 disease (GD1) and severe bone disease represents a new genetic profile, researchers say. Although the uncommon genetic alterations have been reported previously, researchers suggest these are the first known GD patients with this combination of two mutations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted the clinical hold on a Phase 1/2 trial designed to test the gene therapy candidate PR001 in patients with type 2 Gaucher disease. The team at Prevail Therapeutics expects to initiate patient dosing in the first half of 2020.

Treatment with ambroxol — a medication used to treat respiratory conditions associated with excessive mucus — reversed bone damage and decreased the excessive liver and spleen volume of a 5-year-old girl with Gaucher disease (GD) type 1, a case study shows. Titled “Ambroxol improves skeletal and hematological…

People with Gaucher disease (GD) show high levels of antibody-making plasma cells in bone marrow areas rich in abnormal Gaucher cells, a study reports. However, treatment with specific GD therapies can partly reverse these alterations. The study, “Bone Marrow Plasma Cell Burden in Gaucher Disease Correlates with…

Weakness at the connections between muscles and joints may affect bones and could contribute to the chronic fatigue felt by people with Gaucher disease (GD), a study found. Tendon stiffness could be “a sign of alarm,” its researchers said of this study into patients’ Achilles tendons, as…

A test that measures levels of glucosylsphingosine (or lyso-Gb1) in the blood may help diagnose Gaucher disease (GD) and distinguish between disease types, a study has found. The test proved useful in diagnosing newborns and was also accurate in placenta samples, suggesting that it could help diagnose the…

With so much recent publicity surrounding gene therapy, it’s no surprise that the topic was a major focus of the recent 2019 NORD Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. From diagnosis and clinical trial design to manufacturing, pricing strategies, and ethical concerns, gene therapy — both its high…

Four distinct genetic profiles in Gaucher disease (GD) patients within a single family highlight the variability in disease severity and its difficult diagnosis, a study reports. The study, “Comprehensive clinical, biochemical and genetic screening reveals four distinct GBA genotypes as underlying variable manifestation…